Completing tasks in spite of adult ADD/ADHD
If you’re like me, you probably have a garage full of partially-completed tasks and a to-do list that is longer than your arm. Time management and project completion are the bane of many people with adult ADD/ADHD— myself included. Here are a few tips to help you tackle the tasks that come your way.
Get a clock.
When we cannot keep track of time, minutes can become hours, hours days, and days grow into feelings of forever. Chunk a project with the pomodoro time management method. Get an old-fashioned kitchen time (or any timer will do) and set it for 25 minutes. Work on the project until the timer dings. Then, take a short break. I recommend no more than 5 minutes.
Each of these task pairs of 25 minutes on task and 5 minutes off task is a pomodoro, Italian for tomato. The original kitchen timer used was shaped like a tomaoto.
Utilize immediate gratification.
Ever hear the procrastinator’s creed? Why do something today that you can put off until tomorrow. Humans are reward-seeking animals; our brains are calibrated for pleasure. If a task provides no immediate pleasure, you’re more likely to procrastinate around it.
Long, complex tasks often lack any immediate gratification. For a person with adult ADD/ADHD, there is little incentive to tackle these tasks now. For tasks like these, the pomodoro method provides a reward every 25 minutes. Hack your brain and the project to maximize your willingness to make it work.
Minimize distractions.
We know the ADD/ADHD brain seeks dopamine, and novelty releases this neurochemical. Eliminating as many distractions as you can will help you stay on task. Clear off your desk prior to beginning a project. Block distracting websites. Turn off email, text, and social network notifications.
Streamline the project.
Don’t make the project bigger than it actually is. Catastrophizing a project and making it more complex than it really is can lead to avoidance and delay of starting. If you know you’re only stepping off a curb, don’t psych yourself out by envisioning leaping off a cliff.
Name your underlying feelings.
This one might require a long look at why you procrastinate. The reasons will probably be different for each project you encounter.
One could be the fear of success. If I successfully complete the project, the powers that be might require me to spend even more time doing things outside of my comfort zone.
Another could be fear of failure. The anxiety of failing can be debilitating. Delaying or procrastinating a project can be a tool to keep the anxiety of failure as far away as possible.
Maybe it’s just plain boring. We’ve all been there with a project that has no appeal. You might be able to taste the apathy. Understanding why you don’t want to start may help you devise a strategy to complete the task.
